The field of the present invention concerns devices used to control sexual conduct of the mentally retarded, such as masturbation, and more particularly to those devices which are attached to the body for this purpose.
There are presently a large number of retarded people in the United States. The degree of mental retardation varies but there are a substantial number who have IQ's in the range of idiot, moron and imbecile. These mentally retarded people are in many cases unable to properly comprehend social settings in which they may be present, and it has been difficult in the past to control the sexual conduct of such retarded people in such social settings. This problem has been particularly acute among adolescents who have approached puberty. The retarded person, not being cognizant of proper behavior among others, in some instances will masturbate in the presence of a group, or in more severe instances make sexual advances upon another.
The presence of such conduct is undesirable, and of course is disruptive when it occurs in a group setting, and can be dangerous when an individual is attacked by a retarded person.
During the long period of time in which this problem has existed attempts have been made to restrain such sexual conduct. Pants without zippers have been tried. However these have proved to be uncomfortable, and the retarded person has been able to contact his or her genitals by virtue of rubbing the hand or some other object over the area of pants covering the genital area. Attempts have also been made to restrain the hands of the retarded person, but this is considered undesirable and still does not act as a total restraint. Corrective action such as scolding and the like have also not worked.
The present invention is designed to overcome problems of the prior art. The invention comprises a preventive apron which has a main apron section extending from the waist to the lower thigh region. The apron has a pair of top straps which wrap around the waist above the pelvis and are tied behind the back; a pair of midstraps which extend about and are tied behind the buttocks; and a pair of thigh straps which extend around each thigh and are secured to the interior of the apron. The apron further has a front interior pocket which receives a protective shield of rectangular box-shape. The shield has one side open and at its top end has a recess which conforms to the contours of the lower abdomen. The edge of the shield, rather than being the same width as the shield thickness, is extended into a flange that reduces the pressure exerted by contact of the shield against the body, and also allows some sliding of the shield for comfort.
The shield, which is preferably made of plastic, extends within the pocket from just above the lower abdomen area to beneath the midpoint of the thighs and is of sufficient width to prevent its falling between the legs of the user when the legs are spread to allow the wearer to rub the shield against the genital area. The box-shape of the shield allows its front side to be projected away from the genital area of the wearer so that the wearer is unable to rub the shield against the genital area.
When the apron is secured about the body with each of the straps secured tightly the wearer is unable to extend their hands downward into the apron to contact the genital area with the hand. The length of the apron restrains the wearer from extending the hand under the front of the apron into the genital area. The thigh straps prevent the apron from being pulled upward to lift the shield out of the way.
The tying and buttoning of the straps is sufficient in the case of a retarded person who is not intelligent enough to realize that the straps are fastened behind him or her can be untied to remove the apron. However, for a retarded child of somewhat higher intelligence, safety locks can be provided to secure the straps as mentioned so that the retarded person cannot loosen the apron straps.
The present invention thus provides a shield which restrains the user from masturbating in a group setting and further prevents sexual assault by virtue of the shielding action. The apron is shaped to allow the user to wear it and continue normal body movements, such as walking and bending, with minimal interference but provides the necessary shielding and thus overcomes the problems of the prior art.